


tony yeets howard off a cliff

by kayytx



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Gen, Howard Stark Stay Dead Challenge, Howard Stark's A+ Parenting, M/M, Post-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-24
Updated: 2018-09-24
Packaged: 2019-07-16 11:10:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,043
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16084922
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kayytx/pseuds/kayytx
Summary: Anon on tumblr said: What if the guardian of the Soul Stone isn't actually a real person but a manifestation created by the stone replicating the soul of the best messenger for the particular seeker? So not *really* the actual Red Skull (though he thinks it is) but a copy chosen for Thanos because he would best reflect Thanos & his reasons for wanting the stone etc. So maybe when Tony goes for the stone he doesn't meet the Red Skull, but Yinsen (or knowing Marvel, Howard).///...or, what it says on the tin.





	tony yeets howard off a cliff

**Author's Note:**

> this is completely self-indulgent. we heard that howard stark would make an appearance in a4 and i just wanted tony to get some closure.
> 
> not beta'd so pls be gentle, but also pls let me know if you spot any mistakes :)

In the blink of an eye, the Space Stone transports them to the remote lands of Vormir.

Tony looks around, lets his eyes adjust to the darkness surrounding them.

“Well this place is certainly…big,” he says.

“Please don’t tell me we’re supposed to search every inch of the place,” Steve replies.

Tony looks at the gauntlet he’s wearing and shakes his head. “No. We don’t need to do that,” he responds. He looks up, stares across the distance at the two pillars looming overhead. “It’s there.”

“How do you know?”

“The stones…it’s like they’re drawn in that direction. They’re telling me they need to be there.”

Steve nods and turns to the stony path on his right. “Alright. Let’s go then.”

“Steve, wait.” Tony engages his thrusters and lifts a few inches off the ground. “Need a lift?”

***

As Tony touches down and waits for Steve to step off the suit, he notices a shadowy figure awaiting by one of the pillars.

“Welcome, Steve. Anthony.”

He knows that voice.

Steve steps forward. “How are you here?”

Howard Stark removes his hood and answers.

“I woke up here, after I died. I wasn’t given the privilege of reincarnation. I wasn’t welcomed at the pearly gates of heaven, or sent to hell for eternal damnation. Though I guess, this is its own kind of torture, isn’t it? This is my punishment, for trying to harness the energy of an infinity stone to shape the future as I saw fit.” Howard looks at Tony for the first time in 28 years. “Not unlike what you’re trying to do now, wouldn’t you say, son?”

“This is nowhere near the same,” Tony says.

“Isn’t it?” Howard turns to Steve. “If you were the one wearing that gauntlet, Steve, I would have believed this to be my last day guarding the stone.” He chuckles and shakes his head. “But no, you and your team decided to trust Tony with it. A big mistake, really. He’s always been too soft, too weak to do what needs to be done.”

Tony grits his teeth. “Just tell us what to do, old man,” he hisses.

“A sacrifice.” Howard looks at Tony and steps closer. “The soul demands an exchange. Someone you hold dear. Someone you love. A soul for a soul.”

Tony flinches back. “No. I’d kill myself before that happens.”

“But you don’t love yourself enough for that to work, do you?” Howard tsks. “So what will it be, son? Do you have what it takes? Are you strong enough?” He spares a glance at Steve before settling his eyes back on Tony. “I know that you love him, crave his attention and validation. Just like you craved mine. I dare you to tell me that I’m wrong.”

Steve cuts in. “Tony…”

He turns around and looks at Steve, sees the overwhelming sadness displayed across his features, and Tony knows, without a doubt, that Steve isn’t planning on leaving this barren planet.

“We don’t have any other choice. The rest of the universe is at stake.”

Tony scoffs. The rest of the universe. The universe is a joke, hellbent on making Tony as miserable as possible. Just when he got his team back, just when he got Steve back, he’s expected to give the man up again.

“There’s always another choice,” he insists.

Steve takes his hand. “Tony,” he whispers. “There’s no cutting the wire this time.”

Tony looks back at Howard, who’s standing with his arms crossed and eyebrow raised, expression the same as Tony remembers from his childhood, dripping with doubt and disdain and disappointment.

“Either do it or don’t. Stop wasting more of my time, boy,” Howard spits out.

Rage burns throughout Tony’s body as he hears his father’s words. The man has been dead for almost three decades, but he still has the ability to hit Tony where it hurts. Twenty-eight years, where Tony has gone through hell and back again, turned his life around and positively influenced other people, built a family and saved the world. But it’s still not enough to make Howard proud.

And suddenly, Tony knows what he has to do.

He lets go of Steve’s hand and walks towards his father.

“You’re right, dad,” Tony says. “I don’t have what it takes to give Steve up. Call me selfish, but I just won’t do it.”

Tony watches as Howard smiles smugly at him, looking as if he knew Tony would let him down, just like he always did.

“You’re also right,” he continues, “because I did always crave your attention. All I wanted was a father who was there for me. A father who was proud of me. Even now, after you’ve been gone for so long, I still assess everything I do by asking myself what I think you’d say if you were still alive. I’m almost 50 years old, and I’m still looking for validation from my dead, absentee father.”

Tony lets out a deep breath and smiles. He feels lighter now, like a huge weight has finally been lifted off his aching shoulders.

“I’m done with that now. There’s nothing I can do that would make you proud of me. Even after everything I’ve been through in the last decade, I can still see that you consider me a failure. It’s fine. You may not know my worth, but I do.”

Tony can see the smirk slowly slipping off Howard’s face as it dawns on the man that he’s underestimated his son yet again.

“I loved you, dad. I still do, even though the feeling was never mutual. I know you did the best you could.” He pauses and spares a kind smile for Howard. “I’m really glad I got to see you one last time. Goodbye, dad.”

He lifts his arm up, splays his fingers out, and repulsor blasts his father off the cliff.

***

In the blink of an eye, they’re back where they started when they first landed on this planet.

Tony’s fist is clenched–he doesn’t know when that happened–and when he opens it up, the Soul Stone shines bright and orange in his palm.

He turns to Steve and sees the man already smiling back at him.

“Let’s go save the universe.”

**Author's Note:**

> this lil fic has a [tumblr post](http://kayytx.tumblr.com/post/178401075712) if you wanna do the reboogie woogie rebloggy thing!


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